A Fighting Chance
by addison116
Summary: Set after the season 4 mid-season finale. Daryl and Beth have been wandering in the woods, fighting to survive, slowly making their way to their meet-up location. Will they be able to make it? And if they do, who else survived the attack on the prison and what do their futures hold?
1. Chapter 1

Ch.1

They had been traveling for days. Beth was exhausted, and she could tell that, even through his tough exterior, Daryl was too. He had done his best to get them food, but the animals were scarce, so they had resorted to eating berries. Beth knew they weren't poisonous; her father had taught her the difference between poisonous and nonpoisonous berries when she was just a little girl. But berries wouldn't be enough to sustain them for much longer, and they hadn't been able to find water. They knew they needed to keep walking.

She knew the woods were a dangerous place, but it made it even worse now that she didn't have a weapon. The only thing that kept a walker from eating her alive was Daryl and his crossbow. He had taken down a few, maybe three of four, but they had tried to steer clear of walkers when they saw them, quietly creeping away, afraid that where there was one there were more. It seemed that the walkers had started herding together rather than straying away from each other and attacking their prey.

"You still there, kid?"

"Yeah, right behind you."

"I think we're getting close. Do you need a break?"

Beth simply shook her head no. Daryl had been keeping a close eye on her since the attack on the prison. He knew how close she had been with Hershel, and he wasn't sure how his sudden and gruesome death would affect her. She had held herself together for the first couple miles after they'd left the prison, she had simply walked right beside him not saying a word, and then she had stopped walking. When Daryl had turned around he saw Beth, just standing there, her hand to her face and tears brimming at her eyes before they finally started to roll down her face. He hadn't been sure what to do; he had never been the comforting kind, and he couldn't even imagine the pain she was feeling in that moment. He finally decided to walk over to her and pull her close, letting her sob into his chest as he continuously reassured her that everything was going to be alright, even though he was quite uncertain about the words he spoke.

They had decided to set up camp there; they were far enough from the prison that it would take the walkers a while to reach them, and the sun had already begun setting. Daryl knew how to make a fire, so he made one and decided to let Beth sleep while he kept watch. Instead of watching their surroundings he had watched Beth; he knew that he would be able to hear a walker approaching. Beth was restless, she had a hard time falling asleep, and when she had finally drifted off she was haunted by the image of the Governor swinging Michonne's sword to her father's neck. She eventually awoke to Daryl putting a hand over her mouth and hushing her. She had been screaming from the terror of her dreams, and Daryl was afraid her screams would attract walkers. After that she couldn't go back to sleep. Her father's death haunted every minute of sleep she got, resulting in complete and utter exhaustion.

Now, as they were just miles from the farm, they were both bound and determined to finish this journey today. They weren't sure if the farm would still be overrun with walkers, or if they had simply moved on like their group had. Daryl kept Beth close, occasionally grabbing her wrist to drag her behind him as they walked. While he had never made an actual promise to Hershel, after his death Daryl had secretly promised to keep Beth safe and do whatever he had to keep her alive, at least until they were reunited with the group. He knew the girl was defenseless without him, and while she may have been slowing him down, he enjoyed the company; he knew that if no one else had made it out of the prison alive he would still have someone by his side as he tried to survive in this world.

They kept moving forward, and surprisingly had no interference with walkers. They walked a few more miles before the first signs of the farm appeared; the river where Daryl had found Sophia's doll, he would remember it for the rest of his life. He now knew they were heading the right way and would be there within an hour.

"We're almost there." Beth gave him a little smile that could barely pass as a smile, and Daryl could sense something was on her mind. "You okay?"

"No, I mean I don't know." Her voice was soft and quiet, barely audible. "What if Maggie isn't there? What if she didn't make it?"

He understood what she was saying. He remembered when he had found out that Merle was still alive and the relief he had felt, and then he remembered when he had died. While Daryl had never really been that close to him, Merle was the only family he had left. He couldn't even begin to imagine what she going through. Maggie and Beth's relationship was something special, something he had admired, and the thought of Beth losing Maggie and her father at the same time made his stomach churn and instantly angered him. "She's fine. Maggie made it."

"You don't know that." Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears and her voice cracked.

"You're right, I don't. But I do know that Maggie is one tough mother fu—" He stopped himself before he finished saying the word. He never really cursed in front of Beth, he knew Hershel disapproved of his cursing so he had always watched his language around Beth.

His almost slip made her smile a little, it lightened the mood, but she still couldn't take her mind off of the thought of being the only one left from her family. She had already seen her mother, brother, Patricia, Jimmy, and her father die, and she couldn't deal with the thought of her sister being gone too. "What happens if she's dead? What am I supposed to do?"

"Hey, like I said, she's tough. And, if for some reason she didn't make it, you have us. You won't be alone."

The edge of the woods began to emerge, and a white house began to form through the trees. From way back here it didn't look like there was any sign of life, and Daryl was beginning to think that Beth was right, that Maggie didn't make it, that nobody had made it. But then, just as they were stepping out from the trees, leaving the woods behind them, the first signs of life appeared with a blurred group of people coming from the house.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2

They couldn't tell who was still alive; they were too far away to make out any faces. From what he could make out there looked to be at least ten people standing on the porch. He was still holding onto Beth's wrist when he felt her suddenly stop, frozen in fear.

"I don't see her, Daryl, I don't see her there."

"Heck, I can't tell who anyone is. We aren't close enough yet to see who it is," he said, giving her wrist a light tug, but to no avail.

"I would be able to tell if she was there."

"Let's just get to the house, she could be inside. What else are you going to do? Just stay here and wait for a walker to get you?" He tugged at her wrist again and she followed.

….…

Maggie had been sitting in the house. She, Sasha, and Bob had gotten there two days ago, and everyone else had arrived that night or the next day, everyone except Daryl and Beth. She hadn't been able to sleep since they got there, she was too worried about Beth and wanted to make sure she was awake, just in case Beth arrived. Everyone had been reassuring her that she was probably with Daryl, and that anyone with Daryl had a better shot at surviving than any of them had being together as a large group, but the thought still lurked in her mind that Beth hadn't made it out of the prison, or that if she had she had been attacked by a walker.

The thought of her little sister out in the woods alone made her nauseous. It was her who had told Beth to get the kids on the bus. The kids had been with Tyreese, though, so Beth wouldn't have been able to find them. She would have been alone; the bus had left her behind. Would she know how to find her way back to the farm? Did she have anything to use as a weapon against walkers? What if she had run into another group of people? At first the thought had calmed Maggie, until she remembered that the world they lived in now was not as kind as the world they had lived in. If Beth had run into another group of people there was no telling if they were good or bad, and if they were the latter, what they would do to her. These thoughts kept racing through her mind, and she kept thinking of new scenarios that her sister could have found herself in, each one more terrifying than the last.

That's what she was doing that day. She was pacing back and forth in the living room, which surprisingly looked exactly how they had left it, occasionally taking a seat. Everyone was inside. Sasha had been trying to calm Maggie down, trying to be reassuring.

"Maggie, why don't you sit down? I can go and get you a glass of water." She heard the words but didn't say anything. "Maggie, she's going to be fine."

"Really? Do you really think that? Do you really think she is fine?" Maggie spat out, not realizing the malice in her tone until she had said it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that to you. I'm just, I'm just scared." She was nodding her head and finally took a seat.

"I know."

"Even if she did make it out of the prison do you really think her head was in the right place to be able to survive? You don't know her like I do, Sasha, I don't think she'd be able to make it after seeing my dad…" She stopped herself before she went any further. She hadn't given her self much time to fully comprehend her father's death, and all she could think of was the small scar on her sister's wrist, evidence of how she dealt with the death of her mother. She knew that Beth had grown, but to Maggie Beth was still the fragile little girl who had tried to slit her wrist, the girl who hadn't been able to cope with the loss of her mother who had already been gone. It was this version of her sister that she feared had returned after having watched her father be decapitated, this version that she feared wouldn't be able to survive.

"I think she's tougher than you give her credit for; I think she would be able to get her head straight, at least until she got here."

Out of the corner of her eyes Maggie saw Rick, Michonne, Carl, Glenn, Tyreese, and a few others exit the house and go out on the porch. She ignored the sudden emptiness of the house, that is until she heard the door slam and saw Glenn rush in yelling her name.

"Maggie! Maggie! Come here, come on, hurry," he said as he went over to her and grabbed her arms, leading her out to the porch. "Look. Do you see that?"

Maggie squinted her eyes and could just make out two figures emerging from the woods. One appeared to be a quite a few inches taller than the other, more muscular too. She didn't want to believe as she put two and two together.

"It's not them, it can't be." But as the figures got closer she could make out the crossbow slung across the man's back and the mop of blond hair of the girl. It was Daryl and Beth; they had made it.

….…

As Daryl continued to pull her forward she could start to make out the people standing on the porch. She could see Rick and Carl, and Michonne and Tyreese. And then she saw Glenn, but there was no Maggie. Her stomach dropped and she could feel tears beginning to form. She saw as Glenn ran inside, and after what seemed like hours, she could see him reemerging with two women; Sasha and Maggie. Maggie leapt off of the porch and began running towards her, and Beth did the same thing. The distance between them seemed like miles, and Beth's legs couldn't carry her fast enough. Before she'd even reached her sister she had tears streaming down her face. And then she heard a thud as she and her sister finally met, Maggie's arms wrapping around her sister.

"Beth, Beth, I am so sorry. I should have never left you alone."

"It's okay," Beth said, barely able to form words between her sobs.

"I am so, so sorry," Maggie said, as she gently rested her chin on Beth's head and closed her eyes, relieved that her fears were finally put to rest.

They stayed there for a few minutes, crying and hugging each other, afraid to let each other go again. The other members of the group had assembled on the porch; a few of them had made their way to where Maggie and Beth stood. After letting go of each other Maggie went over to Daryl, giving him the lightest of hugs, knowing he knew what she meant.

"Thank you for keeping her safe."

"Ah, it was nothing," Daryl casually brushed it off.

Beth started walking towards the house, but was stopped by Rick, who hugged her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine I think."

"I'm so sorry Beth. I should have done more, I should have acted sooner, just told him he could have the prison."

Beth remained silent, the wound caused by her fathers death still too fresh to form a scar. When he let her go understanding that she didn't blame him but that she needed her time to heal, she continued her walk to the house and up the porch.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: I thought that I should let you guys know that this story was originally posted on a different website. After looking into , I decided that I wanted to give it a try and have since moved "A Fighting Chance" to this website. The story is not complete on the previous website, I only wrote about 10 chapters. I plan to publish the completed chapters on this website over the next week or so, as well as add new chapters.**

**As I am new to this website, I am still getting used to it. I apologize for any mistakes and errors. I will do my absolute best to learn how the website works as quickly as possible.**

**Also, if you feel up to it, please leave a review. I would love to hear what you guy's think of "A Fighting Chance," as well as what I could do to improve my writing.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

Ch.3

Everyone had gone inside, everyone but Beth, who remained sitting on the porch steps. She knew that she should go in and be with the rest of the group, but she couldn't bring herself to step foot in that house. That house had too many memories, it held too much pain. Even just looking out at the yard she could feel an ache in her heart and a pit in her stomach. Right over there to her left was where she had ran to the truck, her hand grasping Patricia even as the walkers began to swarm, not ready to let go until Lori had forced their hands apart. And off to her right were the burnt remains of the barn where her father had locked the creatures that had once been her mother and brother in hopes that a cure would come.

She had thought she'd changed, that she'd become a different person, someone who no longer cried, but she was wrong. It took everything in her not to cry as she stared blankly out into the distance, her eyes gazing the farm where her family had once lived in peace. The stark contrast between the beauty this place once was and the horror it had become were noticeable in every inch of the land. From where she was sitting on the porch she could make out a tree with a rope dangling from it. When she was little, her father had hung the rope there and attached a tire, making the perfect swing. Now the end of the rope was frayed and the tire was long gone. More than ten wooden crosses now stood just a few feet from where she used to swing, marking the graves of people she had loved, and enveloping a place that had once been full of joy and childhood dreams with terror and nightmares.

She was brought back to reality by the sound of the creaky porch as someone walked towards her. Maggie. She silently handed her a glass of water and sat down next to her. They both remained quiet for a few minutes, just taking in the scenery before them. Then Maggie broke the silence.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her head still looking straight ahead but her eyes peering at Beth quizzically.

Beth remained silent, not knowing how to respond. She didn't want to worry her sister, but she also didn't want to lie. She wasn't alright. Nothing about her was alright. And she didn't know if she would ever be fine again.

"No one is expecting you to be fine, Beth."

"I was so scared. I didn't know if you were alive." Her voice was quiet, barely audible.

"I know." Maggie now turned her head to look at her sister, who was still staring out onto the farm. "I promise I will never leave you again."

Beth just nodded her head in agreement.

"Come in when you're ready." Maggie gave Beth a small smile before standing up and returning to the house.

Beth sat the glass of water aside and rested her head against the railing. She could faintly hear voices coming from inside, but she wasn't able to make anything out. She was almost certain that they were talking to Maggie about her. Probably asking her questions to figure out how Beth was holding up. They were probably asking Daryl why it took them so long to make it back to the farm. And they were probably making plans as to what they should do next. As the sun began to fade beneath the trees Beth's eyes grew heavy. Still not ready to go inside she fell asleep listening to the voices trailing out from the house.

* * *

It was dark now and everyone was beginning to get tired. They started making sleeping arrangements. They had set up the few tents they had had in the bus out back. Thankfully the house was big enough for most of the group to sleep inside.

"Should we bring her inside?" Sasha asked, looking out at Beth.

"No, I don't want to rush her. She'll come in when she's ready."

"I'll bring her a blanket. I can stay outside with her until she comes in. I'll keep watch, make sure no walkers come," Glenn volunteered.

He walked to where he had set his gun and then retrieved a blanket. He then went outside to where Beth was. He was quiet and made sure not to wake her as he gently put the blanket around her. He then went and took a seat on one of the chairs on the porch, his gun in hand. The two of them didn't talk much, but Glenn still thought of Beth as a little sister, and staying out here with her tonight was the least he could do for her. A few moments later Maggie joined Glenn out on the porch.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine. But you should go and get some sleep."

Maggie didn't protest, instead she willingly went inside and to her room, leaving Glenn and Beth alone. Glenn was still a little tired from the illness he had had, but he was mostly recovered. He stayed out there on the porch keeping watch until the sun began to rise, and then went inside as soon as he heard that someone else was up.

* * *

Beth awoke surprised. She didn't remember falling asleep and she was confused as to how the blanket wrapped around her had got there. Her neck ached from the odd position she had slept in on the porch. She sat there a few more minutes trying to decide what to do. And then she stood up. She couldn't stay out here forever; she would have to go inside eventually, and now was as good a time as any.

She walked to the door and reached her hand out for the handle, but hesitated and was overcome by a wave of nerves and emotions. She heard a few voices inside. She could make out Rick's voice and Maggie's, Sasha's, Carl's, and a few of the Woodbury people. She took a deep breath and pulled open the door, and slowly took a step inside. The voices hushed as they realized Beth had finally come in.

While the outside of the house had weathered and become run down, the inside had remained in tact and looked exactly how they had left it. Family pictures were hung on the walls, and the furniture remained in its place. Beth moved further into the house, and without realizing it she was making her way up the stairs to her room.

She opened her bedroom door and stepped inside. Her bed was neatly made. A vase full of dead and wilted wildflowers Jimmy had given her sat on her night table; the note he had written to her sat beside it. The family picture they had taken when she was just six was still on her dresser, surrounded by two other framed pictures of family and friends.

She walked to her closet and began searching for something. She finally found the box she had been looking for. She took off the lid and could feel the tears beginning to fall from her eyes, and she brushed them away. She reached in the box and took out what she had been looking for, a scrapbook she had made for her mother for her birthday, a present she was never able to give. She began flipping through the pages and looking at the pictures. One page was full of pictures of just her and her mother, another of her father and mother. Each page brought back memories.

She was interrupted by someone behind her. She wasn't sure how long he had been there, he remained quiet, just watching, until he finally found his voice and spoke.

"You comin' down stairs?" It was Daryl. He must have slept in the room down the hall last night and just woke up.

Beth again wiped the tears from her face, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying, before she looked at him. "Um, yeah."

"What are you looking at?" He gestured toward the open book before her, and she quickly shut it and put it back in the box.

"It's nothing."

He didn't question her. Instead he followed behind her as they made their way down the stairs.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4

When they got to the kitchen Daryl didn't hesitate to grab some of the food lying on the counter. They didn't have much, and what they did have wouldn't last. They would need more food, and fast. Maggie looked to Beth and patted the seat next to her.

"Come on, I'll get you some food."

Beth was about to object, thinking that she would leave the food to those who need it, like the children, but then she realized just how hungry she was. Since leaving the prison she had lost quite a bit of weight; the few berries she had been eating hadn't done much to fill her stomach. Maggie sat a bowl of mixed fruit down in front of Beth and sat back down next to her. Beth began eating.

"We're going to be needing more food. I was thinking I would go out hunting today." Daryl said with a mouth full of food. Obviously the berries hadn't been enough to fill his stomach either. "Is there anymore food in the bus?"

"No, we brought everything inside," Rick said, looking over at the remaining canned food on the counter.

"Well, I don't think a few squirrels will be enough. We're going to need more."

"I know, but we can't risk going on a supply run yet." It was Sasha who spoke this time.

"I was going to have Carl go out and look for some food today. Beth, would you go with him? You know what plants are edible out there. I'm afraid if I let Carl go out alone he will bring back something poisonous, get us all sick." Rick gave Carl a little nudge on the shoulder.

Beth didn't answer quickly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go back into the woods. She was afraid that something would happen and she would be separated from Maggie again. But she knew that there wasn't much else she could do, and she knew that, other than Maggie, she was one of the only people in the group who knew what plants were edible and what ones were poisonous. "Sure, I'll go."

"Maybe we can arrange for a supply run later this week. We don't have a lot of weapons; most of our guns are still back at the prison, so we're going to need to stay close, be careful."

Beth finished eating and carried her bowl to the sink, the same place where everyone else had set their dishes even though there was no running water to wash them. She thought about bringing this up, but washing dishes was the least of their worries right now. If they decided to stay here they would figure out a way to clean dishes.

"Are you ready to go?" Carl came up behind her, making her jump a little.

"Yeah."

By now everyone was beginning to get up from the table and go about their business, doing what needed to be done to allow the group to survive for another day. Daryl, Rick, Maggie, Carl, and Beth walked outside. Daryl walked over to his crossbow he had set on the porch and grabbed a bag that he used to put his kill in.

"Carl, stay close, don't go too far into the woods. We don't have much ammunition, so only use your gun if you need to."

"I know."

"Beth, do you have a weapon?"

Beth simply shook her head no. She had a knife back at the prison, but she wasn't able to take it with her when they left. Rick handed her a knife he had in his belt.

"Don't be gone long. If anything happens fire your gun…we should be able to hear it back here."

They started to walk away, but Maggie pulled Beth aside. "Are you sure you're okay with this? If you don't want to go you don't have to."

"I'm fine, really."

"I know, just, be careful." Maggie hugged her and then handed her a little bag. It was similar to the one Daryl had but it was much smaller. "You can put whatever you find in here."

"Thanks."

Carl and Beth then started walking towards the woods. It didn't take them long to reach the edge; both of them were fast walkers. Neither of them had said a word to each other during their walk. They entered the woods and walked side-by-side, both keeping a watchful eyes out for walkers.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" Carl asked as Beth leaned down next to a low branch of a tree with some strange looking berries on it.

"Yes. My daddy taught me what foods are edible in the wild and what aren't. These are laurelcherries. They aren't very filling, but they'll do." Beth grabbed a few handfuls and placed the berries in the bag.

They continued walking, being sure not to venture too far from the farm. Beth would occasionally stop and pick a few berries or other plants. When she leaned down and started picking something that even Carl recognized he started laughing.

"What?"

"We can eat clovers?"

"I've never had them, but I know they're edible."

Carl reached down and grabbed one and began chewing on it. His face contorted a little. "Not the best thing I've eaten."

"I think you're supposed to boil them or something. I'm not sure. Maggie should know what you do with them." Carl handed Beth one and she took it. Her face contorted the same way that Carl's did when she began chewing. "Maybe we shouldn't bring these back."

"Nah, like you said, maybe Maggie knows what to do with them."

They walked a little more before stopping to take a break. Carl handed her a bottle of water and she took a sip before handing it back to him. "Thanks."

"I'm sorry about your dad."

Beth looked at him and shrugged her shoulders a little. "I just wish he were here with us." For some reason she felt like she could open up to Carl, that was probably because he had been through something similar when he lost his mom.

"It gets better."

She wanted to believe him, but right now she didn't feel like it ever would. "We should probably start heading back to the farm. Maggie is probably going crazy that we aren't back yet." They both stood up and started walking back the way they had come. And, like on their way here, they barely spoke to each other.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Notes: I'm really excited for this chapter; it sort of lays the ground work for the next few chapters.** **I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

Ch.5

By the time Carl and Beth made it back to the farm it was late in the afternoon. Daryl had already returned from his hunt and had managed to kill a possum, two rabbits, and six squirrels. As soon as she'd seen them approaching, Maggie had run out of the house and was at her sister's side.

"What took you guys so long?" She was checking Beth over for any scratches or cuts, anything that could possibly lead to an infection, or worse, the fever that would lead to her death.

"We didn't know we were supposed to hurry."

"It looks like you have a full bag; what's in there?" It was Tyreese now who spoke.

"A bunch of stuff. Laurelcherries, elderberries, a few mushrooms. You may want to check the mushrooms again though, make sure they aren't the poisonous ones. Maggie, do you know what you're supposed to do with clovers?" Beth glanced over to Carl with a smirk.

"You boil them. Why?"

"I told you," Beth said with another glance at Carl. "Carl didn't believe me that they are edible, and we tried them raw and they aren't that good."

"I'll make some up tonight for dinner."

Carl and Beth followed behind Maggie as she went into the kitchen and set the bag of plants on the counter. Daryl was sitting at the table messing with one of his arrows and Rick seemed to be oblivious to their presence as he rocked a sleeping Judith in his arms. When he finally looked up from the child he began talking to Carl.

"Did you see any walkers?"

"No; we really didn't see anything other than plants."

"It looks like you got a lot."

"Yeah, Beth's pretty good at picking out what we can and can't eat." Carl walked over to Rick and carefully took the baby from his arms. "Dad, I was thinking that maybe Beth and I could start doing this everyday. You know, our way of contributing to the group."

Rick was silent, and so was everyone else in the room. Maggie had stopped foraging through the bag and Daryl's hands had stopped fixing the arrow. Rick looked to the others, but none of them had anything to say.

"Carl, you know we appreciate you wanting to help out the group, but I'm sure we can find something back here at the farm for you two to do."

"Dad, we need the food, and Beth obviously knows what she's doing."

"I know, but it's dangerous out there. What if you ran into a herd of walkers? Just because we haven't seen any since we've been here doesn't mean there aren't any around."

"I have my gun, and Beth-Beth has a knife. We can protect ourselves." Everyone in the room looked to Beth; they all knew she wasn't a good fighter; in fact, she had never had to take down a walker when she wasn't behind the safety of a fence. "Just think about it?"

"Sure, I'll think about it, we'll all think about it. But I'm not making any promises. Now why don't you two go out back and check on the kids, see if Glenn needs anything."

Carl nodded his head in agreement and both he and Beth went outside. As soon as they were out of earshot the conversation began.

"We can't let them go out there." It was obvious that Maggie didn't like the idea, and everyone understood why.

"The kids got a point. Beth's good at gettin' berries and the like, heck, she did it for us on our way here. And we need the food." Daryl was now working on the arrow again, meticulously making sure everything was properly in its place. "We can't just rely on meat, because a few squirrels and a possum won't last long and there's no promise that I'll be able to get more tomorrow."

"What if something happens when they're out there? What if one of them gets hurt or bit?"

"Carl's a good shot, and as long as they stay close we would be able to hear any shots he fired." Rick knew his son's aim was almost perfect; he almost never missed his target.

"I can't let Beth go out there, I can't risk her getting hurt; I can't lose her too."

"What if I sweep the area they would be searching in before they go out? I could do a quick sweep in the morning, make sure nothings there and then go out hunting."

"That could work," Rick said as he looked at Maggie, waiting for some sort of response.

"If anything happens to her-"

Daryl cut her off before she could finish. "It won't; nothing will happen to her."

That night they had the meat Daryl had managed to kill and the clovers Beth and Carl had brought back. The food had gone quickly; they had far too many mouths to feed and not enough food to feed them. They had managed to eat all of the meat and only a few berries were left.

"These clovers are a lot better boiled," Carl said.

"I'm sure they are."

"Have you guys thought about it?" Carl glanced over to his father, who was sitting directly across from him.

"We have."

"And?"

"I'm gonna sweep the area before you two go out, make sure there ain't nothin' that's gonna kill ya'."

"Really?" Carl perked up, he was excited with the news; he had been almost certain that they would have said no.

"I expect that you'll keep a good eye on my sister."

"Of course. We'll be fine. I promise we won't be out long, just a few hours."

"Beth, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah." She wasn't very convincing.

"Just stay close to the farm. We don't need you two getting lost."

"We will, I promise."

* * *

The day had started like any other. Carl and Beth got up, ate breakfast, and left with Daryl when he went out to hunt. Their search for food in the woods wasn't very fruitful today; they had only been able to find a few handfuls of berries. Over the last week Carl and Beth had grown closer and had begun opening up to each other. Their conversations turned from pointless small talk about the animals Daryl had managed to catch and his retelling of the time he had seen a chupacabra, to deeper and more personal stories of the past and how they imagined their future in this unpredictable world would be. But even these more personal conversations hadn't prepared Carl for what Beth would say next. Their pace had slowed considerably, not because they were tired, but because they enjoyed being in the woods.

"Do you believe in God?"

In all of their conversations neither of them had ever brought up God or religion or anything relating to that. "Um, I guess."

"Do you believe in heaven?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"What do you think happens to us when we die? Do you think our souls go straight to heaven, or do you think they stay trapped in our bodies until the walker version of ourselves dies?"

Carl didn't get a chance to respond, because just as Beth was finishing her question there was a rustle in the bushes and the sound of a breaking twig. Carl raised his gun, ready to shoot the walker he knew was about to appear. They were taken aback when a human form emerged, a being that made no low growl or no attempt to lunge it's teeth into their flesh. This being's flesh was peachy, not ghoulishly pale, his eyes were clear. And apart from his hunched and exhausted posture, it was evident that he was living.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch.6

Carl kept his gun raised and protectively stepped in front of Beth, shielding her from the stranger who stood before them. The man looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. His dark brown hair was disheveled, dirt smeared his skin, and his clothes were tattered. Despite his run-down and frail appearance the man was much bigger than either of the two, and Carl was almost certain that if he really wanted to, the man could overpower the both of them.

It was when the man took a small step forward that Carl noticed the bloodied cloth wrapped around his lower arm, just below the elbow. And with the man's step forward Carl took two steps back, pushing Beth behind him, who now had her hand gently resting on the knife in her belt, ready to pull it out if needed.

"Stop!" Carl yelled, freezing the man in his tracks. The man's hands immediately went up in surrender, showing that he didn't mean any harm.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"What happened?" Carl asked, his eyes staring at the man's arm. "Are you bit?"

"No, no, I'm not bit; it's just a bad cut. I promise. Here, see for yourself." The man slowly lowered his left hand to the cloth on his right arm, unwrapping it to reveal a long jagged cut extending horizontally. "It's not a bite…Do you have a camp around here."

When Carl didn't respond he looked to Beth, his eyes taking in every inch of her body as he gazed up and down. The man's sudden attention made Beth uncomfortable, but she didn't falter in her stance or stare.

"So, do you have a camp?"

"What's that?" Carl said, ignoring the man's question and gesturing to the object loosely attached to his belt.

"What? Oh this? It's just a little knife, nothing to be afraid of." The man began to reach towards the knife.

"Don't move!"

The man once again froze. "I'm just going to take it out, throw it over to you; I'm not going to use it," and as the man said this he unattached the knife and gave it a slight toss in Carl and Beth's direction.

"What's your name?"

"Brett Guzman."

"Where's your group?"

"Don't have one. It's just me." Knowing that he wasn't going to get any answers from Carl, Brett once again turned his attention to Beth. "Do you have a group?"

He was answered with silence. Carl and Beth didn't know what to do.

"I don't mean to sound demeaning, but you two are just kids, I find it awfully hard to believe that you are surviving on your own."

"What are we supposed to do? We can't just leave him here?" Beth quietly whispered in Carl's ear.

"I know."

They were both thinking the same thing. The reason they couldn't leave him out here wasn't because of the gruesome cut on his arm that would likely kill him if it weren't properly treated, but leaving him here meant risking that he would find their camp. Sure, one man probably couldn't do much damage against a group as large as theirs, but if Brett had been lying and he did in fact have a group, how many people would there be? Would they be angry that they left one of their men there to die? Leaving him here was too risky, but taking him back with them posed it's own risks.

Sensing the confusion, Brett spoke up. "Listen, why don't you just take me back to your camp. I can talk to your leader, we can sort this out."

"Shhh-just, be quiet. Let me think."

"Carl, I know we're both thinking the same thing. We should take him back, let your dad and Maggie and the council deal with this."

"You should listen to the girl, she's right. I promise I won't try anything. You can trust me, I swear."

They stood there in silence, Carl contemplating the decision at hand, thinking through all possible options and their possible outcomes. Then he finally came to a decision.

"Come on, you're coming with us. But if you try anything, I swear, I'm not afraid to use this."

They walked for minutes in complete silence, no one daring to say a word. Carl and Beth followed Brett from behind, guiding him when needed in the direction of the farm. Beth had retrieved the knife Brett had had and attached it to her belt.

"So, what's your guys' names?"

Silence.

"It's just, I told you my name, I think it's only fair you tell me yours."

Silence.

"What's the harm in telling me your name, nothing I can do with a name. Just trying to make small talk."

"My name's Beth, that's Carl."

"Where exactly is your camp? I can't tell if we're heading deeper into the woods or not."

"It's just up ahead a little ways."

"How many people are there?"

Carl was the one to answer this time. "You'll find out when we get there."

"So Beth," Brett said, glancing back at her and once again looking her up and down, "how old are you?"

"Shut up and keep walking." Carl pressed his gun against the man's back; an action to tell him the conversation was over. Carl was able to sense the discomfort Brett was causing Beth, and quite frankly, he just really didn't like the idea of bringing this stranger back to their camp, a place where they had just started getting back to normal.

After a few more minutes of fast-paced walking the three of them finally push past the trees and on to the farm. Brett stopped, taking in all of the land, but Carl nudged him forward. When they got closer to the house Carl began yelling.

"Dad! Dad! Get out here now!"

At the sound of his son calling his name, Rick exited the house. Shock and disbelief took over his face. Soon after, a few others had joined him out on the porch. Rick rushed down to the man and Carl and Beth.

"Who is this?"

"His name's Brett. We found him in the woods," Beth said in her sweet, singsong voice that she always had.

"We didn't know what to do. I'm sorry, Dad."

"No, don't be sorry. You did the right thing."

Rick roughly grabbed the man by his arm and dragged him away from his son and Beth.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch.7

They were all in the kitchen, all of the remaining members of the council. Beth, Carl, Judith, the other children, and a few of the people from Woodbury were told to remain outside. Brett was sitting at the table, everyone in the room staring at him. Sure, back at the prison they would have known what to do, they would have asked a few questions, see what kind of person he was, and then most likely he would become part of their group. But what were they supposed to do now? Could they still just let people in their group when they were so weak? The prison had offered them safety and security, but here on the farm they were defenseless, barely able to provide enough food for themselves.

Rick noticed the bandage on Brett's arm. "Is that a bite?"

"It's just a cut."

"How bad?"

"Pretty bad."

Bob walked over to Brett and looked at the cut on his arm. "It's going to need stitches. It's pretty dirty, there's a chance he could get an infection." Bob then went over and grabbed the few medical supplies that they had, and began stitching the man's arm.

"How did you find them?"

"Who? Beth and Carl?" Rick looked at him confused, not sure how he knew their names. "I asked them, and they told, we were just making small talk; no harm in that."

"How did you find them?"

"I was walking in the woods, trying to find someplace to stay, hoping to come across other people. And then I heard them talking; followed their voices for about a mile until I found them. I didn't threaten them, I did as they said."

"Do you have a group?"

"No, at least, not anymore."

"What happened to them?"

"Nothing, I just decided to leave them."

"Why?"

"They weren't-they weren't good people. I didn't want to be a part of what they were doing. So I left, just walked away. There was no conflict, I just walked away, and they let me leave."

"What do you mean they weren't good people?"

"Surely you know what kind of people this world has produced; you've been on the road, seen the ruthlessness in the people…they'd steal whatever they could find, even if it meant leaving the people they were stealing from with nothing. They'd kill people for no reason, just for the fun of it. They weren't good people; I couldn't live with people like that."

"How many were there?"

"Ten or eleven, including me."

"And where is this group now?"

"Man, I don't know. Last I saw of them they were heading north. That was over a week ago. They can't be anywhere near here anymore."

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

"What? No! Of course not. Like I said, I didn't like the kind of people they were. I never took part in any of their crimes."

Rick stepped out of the room and back onto the porch, and everyone but Bob, who was still stitching the man's arm, followed him. He ran his hand through his hair, confusion taking over. He didn't know what they should do.

"Rick, what are we supposed to do with him?" Sasha's voice carried from behind Rick.

"I don't know."

"We can't just leave him out there on his own."

"I know. But can we risk taking him in?"

"He sounds fine, doesn't seem like the people he was with. And he said his group was heading north; they shouldn't be anywhere near us."

"What do you guys think?" Rick turned to look at Maggie, Daryl, and Glenn.

Glenn was the first to respond. "I'm with Sasha, we can't just let him go."

"Yeah, but what if he's lying?" Maggie's voice was laced with concern.

"We have the numbers. He said there were only ten of them. We can just let him in, keep an eye on him. Let him heal, and then send him on his way if we want." Daryl's proposition caused everyone to stop and think it over. He was right, they would have the numbers.

"Are we in agreement? We wait 'til he's healed and then decide? If he does anything, tries anything, we send him on his way." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

When Rick and the other's went back inside to talk to Brett, Maggie and Daryl remained outside. Daryl could sense that Maggie wanted a word with him, and he had a very good feeling that she wasn't very happy with him. She waited until everyone had entered the house before she spoke.

"I thought you swept the area?"

"I did."

"You couldn't have done it too well."

"What? You mad at me because they stumbled upon that kid in there? There was no way I could have known he was going to find them. He could have been miles away when I swept the area. Besides, he's not dangerous. If he'd wanted to hurt them he could have."

This struck a nerve in Maggie. "But what if he would have been dangerous, Daryl? What if he was like the men he was with? What if they had come across a group like that? Then what? What would have happened to them?"

"Maggie, you know that I wouldn't have been able to find him out there if he was that far away."

"They aren't going out anymore. I'm not letting Beth go out there." Maggie turned away from him and went into the house, leaving Daryl outside.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch.8

Carl waited for his dad to come outside. He was nervous of what his dad would think, of what the group would think, about him bringing Brett back to the camp. He had only just gotten his gun back a few weeks ago, and he was afraid that his dad would look at his actions as reckless. After a few hours his dad finally came outside, taking Judith from Beth.

Carl remained silent, trying to read his father's face, attempting to decode what he was thinking before his father said anything. But his attempt was useless, because all he could see on his father's face was exhaustion.

"Dad, did I do the wrong thing?"

Rick turned to look at his son. "What?"

"It's just, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't just leave him out there."

"Carl, you did exactly what any of us would do. Leaving him out there would have been too dangerous. I'm proud of you." Rick extended a hand and patted Carl on the back. "Besides, Brett doesn't seem half bad. We're just going to keep an eye on him; he at least deserves a chance." Rick then got up and carried a sleeping Judith inside.

….

After a few days it seemed as if Brett had successfully assimilated and earned his place in the group. After Daryl would get back from a hunt he would volunteer to help skin and prepare the animals for cooking; he even offered to do some hunting of his own. He helped with watch duty, and when a stray walker did stumble upon the farm, he was the first out there to kill it with his knife, which Beth had given back to him. Daryl had even asked him to go out on a run with him and a few others in the next few days.

But there was something about Brett that unnerved Carl. At first he thought he was making things up, seeing things that weren't there, overreacting. He thought that maybe he was just a little on edge after everything that had happened at the prison. And everyone else seemed to like Brett, so why didn't he?

It started with an innocent bump into her, a little nudge that knocked her off balance, and his hand reaching out to catch her. Nobody else paid any attention to it, and he didn't at first either. Then it was his eyeing her from across the room, her oblivious to the older man's stare that lingered on her far too long. There were other things, too, things that made him wonder about the man's intentions, but he brushed them off as coincidences; nobody had noticed any of this stuff, so he figured he was looking too far into things. But his suspicions were confirmed when he overheard a conversation between the two.

He was walking from the truck parked out in the yard back to the house when he noticed them. Beth was out stretching her legs, just walking around, being sure to stay close to the house. She was the only other person outside, and then he came out of nowhere and approached her. At first the conversation seemed honest enough, but it quickly changed.

"Hey! What are you out here doing?"

"Just stretching my legs a little. They were starting to get cramped."

"Oh. Baby duty again?"

"Yeah, but I don't mind. I like kids, and it seems to be the only way for me to help out around here."

"You're good with her, aren't you? She likes you."

"I guess." She shrugged, not wanting to admit that she knew she was good with kids.

He walked with her a little while longer, his hands in his pockets, before saying anything more. Carl had stopped what he was doing, positioning himself where they couldn't see him but he could still see and hear them.

"So, how old are you?"

"17, almost 18."

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Carl could tell that the question instantly made Beth uncomfortable. It had come out of thin air, and it was being asked by a man she barely knew.

"Um, no," she blushed as she answered him.

"Have you ever had one?"

Beth stopped walking. "Yeah."

"How many have you had?"

"What does it matter to you?" Her voice was defensive.

Brett took a step toward her, his posture straightening, making him appear taller, more threatening. Beth looked to the ground, avoiding eye contact with him, slowly inching back, trying not to make it as noticeable.

"I asked you a question."

He started reaching out his hand, and it looked as if he was going to grab her. Carl came out from where he was listening, casually jogging towards them.

"Hey, Beth, I need your help for a second." It was a lie, but he didn't want them to know that he had been watching them and had heard everything they had said.

As soon as Brett noticed Carl he backed away from Beth, lowering his hand and returning his posture to a more humble, less menacing position. Beth immediately started walking towards Carl.

"Hey, Carl! Is there something I could help with?" He waved his hand in a friendly greeting.

"No, I'm fine." When Beth finally reached him, he headed off in the direction of the truck. "I just need some help unloading the truck. Daryl just got back from a run." He looked over to Beth, who remained silent. She didn't say a word to him about what had happened. Carl instantly regretted bringing Brett back to their camp; he wished that he had left him there in the woods to fend for himself.


	9. Chapter 9

Ch.9

He had been fumbling with the thought in his mind all day long. He didn't know whether he should tell someone about what he had seen earlier that day, or if he should just keep it to himself.

"Dad, I need to talk to you."

"Is something wrong, Carl?"

"No, well, yes."

"What is it?"

"It's Brett."

"What about him?"

"I don't think he's that good of a guy."

Rick looked at his son, confused. "Why do you say that?"

"The way he acts around Beth, it makes her uncomfortable."

"Did she tell you that?"

"No. But I can tell. He's always looking at her, always 'accidentally' bumping into her. I thought I was making it up until today. He scared her, Dad. He scared her."

Rick suddenly looked concerned. "What do you mean he scared her?"

"I overheard a conversation they were having. Beth was outside all alone and he came up and started talking to her. He started asking her really personal questions, and when she didn't want to answer he changed. I don't know how to describe it, but he became threatening. It scared her; I could see it in her eyes."

"I'll talk to Beth, see what she has to say."

* * *

Beth was inside rocking a sleeping Judith. Rick stood at the doorway for a few seconds, just watching as the girl laid the child in her makeshift crib. Beth turned around and jumped when she saw Rick watching.

"Did I scare you? Sorry, I should have let you know I was here."

"It's fine, you just took me by surprise."

"You're good with her."

"Thanks." Beth smiled.

"Beth, can I talk to you real quick?"

"Sure."

"It's about Brett." Beth stiffened at his name, and Rick took notice.

"What about him?" She asked as she straightened up Judith's things.

"What do you think of him?"

"I think he's a decent guy, if that's what you mean."

"Does he make you uncomfortable?" He was very blunt with it, more blunt than he had intended to be.

Beth stopped what she was doing, not sure how to answer.

"If he does, you can tell me." He studied the girl as she stood before him, he could tell she was trying to figure out what to say. "He does, doesn't he?"

"It's probably nothing, I'm sure I'm just overreacting. He didn't mean any harm."

"What did he do?" Beth once again ignored him. "Beth, what did he do?"

"He just talked to me. It was nothing, really."

Rick caught her wrist gently. "You can tell me Beth."

"He was just asking me questions. Like I said, it was nothing. He's fine, honestly."

Rick let go of her wrist, and Beth left the room.

* * *

Rick had been waiting to get Brett alone. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, but he knew that he had to say something. While Beth hadn't admitted that Brett had done anything, Rick could tell by the way she reacted to his questions about Brett that something had happened.

Brett was outside, taking his turn on watch duty. Rick went out to join him. It was a little foggy this morning, and they could barely make out the where the woods began, making it even harder to see any approaching walkers. When Brett noticed Rick he looked up at him and smiled.

"Good morning."

Rick nodded. "Have you seen anything?"

"No, not yet. Let's hope it stays that way. I think we should stay close to the house until the fog clears, it's too hard to see out there."

"Probably a good idea. " Rick paused a few seconds, "I'm not saying that you did anything, but I think it'd be best that you keep your distance from Beth."

"What?" Brett sounded confused.

"I've heard things from people; they say you're making her uncomfortable."

"Is this about that talk I had with her the other day?" He waited for Rick to answer, but he didn't. ""It was all just innocent small talk. I didn't mean anything by it."

"I'm just saying."

"Look, Beth's a nice girl, pretty, too, but I would never intentionally hurt her or make her uncomfortable."

"Just keep your distance these next couple of days," and before Brett had any time to respond Rick went back into the house.

**Authors Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. So what do you think? Do you think Brett intentionally made Beth uncomfortable, or do you think it was all just and innocent mistake?**

**Also, I plan on posting Ch.10 and 11 today. That is as far as I got with A Fighting Chance on the previous website it was on. I am hoping to start working on a new chapter today, chapter 12, and have it up by the end of the weekend.**

**Thank you for all of your support!**


	10. Chapter 10

Ch.10

Brett did exactly what Rick said; he stayed away from Beth. If Beth entered a room, he would find an excuse to leave. If someone mentioned Beth, he would quickly change the conversation. He knew that what he had done was wrong, he had never meant to scare her, but he had always had a habit of coming off more menacing than he actually was. And Brett didn't want to risk getting kicked out of the group, so he told himself that he would stay away from Beth at all costs.

He began taking more shifts on watch. While he liked being around people, he also liked to have a little alone time, time to think. He also began to go out hunting with Daryl. Since the beginning of the apocalypse he had become a pretty decent hunter, not as good as Daryl, but an extra hand hunting and gathering food was always needed.

He was waiting by the truck for Daryl. They were planning on going hunting that day, someplace a little farther away. They hadn't been having much luck in the woods around the farm, so they decided to try their luck somewhere else. When Daryl finally came out of the house, Brett got in to the passenger seat and Daryl jumped in the driver's seat. They drove a few minutes without talking.

Daryl kept glancing over at Brett. He could tell that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. "You alright?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." Brett's face was pale and beads of sweat were gathering on his face.

"It's nothing, just car sick." He lied, he had never gotten car sick before in his life.

"Don't throw up in my truck."

"I won't."

The truck finally came to a stop after about 45 minutes of driving. They both got out, Daryl grabbing his crossbow and game bag, and Brett grabbing the supplies they would need to set up a few snares. Hopefully they would be able to catch something today.

They walked through the woods, and at first it didn't look like there was any life to be found, but as they ventured deeper they began to hear the scurrying of squirrels. Daryl managed to shoot one with his crossbow, and Brett decided that this was a good place to set up a few snares.

As they continued their silent walk in the woods they realized that there was more than just animal life in the woods. Off in the distance, about 300 yards away, Daryl spotted two walkers. Deciding it'd be best to kill them before they had a chance to catch their smell or find any squirrels that had become entangled in their snares, Daryl lifted his crossbow, pointing it at one of the walker's head, and let the arrow go flying. He then quickly took out the second walker.

Daryl began walking to the decaying corpses to pull the arrows out. But as he got closer he realized that the two walkers he had taken down were accompanied by another half dozen. Brett hurried in to action and began taking the walkers down with his knife as Daryl silently shot them with his crossbow. When they were all down, Daryl looked over to Brett, who was leaning against a tree, gasping for breath.

"Dude, you good?"

"Yeah, just out of shape," he said between breaths, sweat pouring down his face.

"I'm just going to head up here a ways, see if I see anymore. You stay here, take a break."

Brett didn't say anything, just waved Daryl on. When he finally caught his breath he ventured off to find Daryl. To his surprise he found Daryl pulling his arrow out of a deer. It wasn't very large, but the meat was needed.

"We should get this back now, before it spoils."

They both reached down and began dragging the deer back to the truck. Daryl could tell that Brett was struggling, but he didn't say anything. They threw the deer into the bed of the truck, went back and collect the two squirrels that got caught in their snares, and began heading back to the farm.

Everyone was surprised to see the deer. It had been months since any of them had had venison; they had mainly been eating squirrel and rabbit. Daryl began dragging the deer from the bed of the truck, and Brett went over to help him. As soon as he lifted the deer his arm gave way and he winced in pain. Daryl looked at him.

"What's wrong? Did you get bit?"

"No, it's my arm, it's been hurting the last few days."

Daryl went over to him and pushed up his sleeve. The area around the wound on Brett's arm was red and inflamed, obvious signs of infection. "How long has it been like this?"

"A few days, I don't know."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I didn't want to become a burden."

Daryl looked over to the house and was relieved when he saw Bob walking outside. "Hey, Bob. Come look at his arm. I think it's infected."

Bob leisurely walked over and looked at Brett's arm. His face went from relaxed to concerned, and both Daryl and Brett knew it wasn't good. "He has a blood infection."

"What do we do 'bout it?"

"He needs antibiotics, plenty of them, and fluids. He should get inside, he needs to rest."

Brett did as he was told; he went inside and quickly fell asleep. He was exhausted. Bob came in and checked on him every once in a while, and he gave them the few antibiotics they had left. But despite all of their attempts, Brett's condition was getting worse. His temperature continued to rise, and his heart rate wouldn't slow down. He eventually died in his sleep. Daryl stabbed him in the head before he could turn.


	11. Chapter 11

Ch.11

Beth watched from her bedroom window as Daryl, Rick, and Tyreese carried Brett's body, wrapped in a bloodied sheet, outside. She watched as they began to dig another grave just feet from the tree she used to swing from, adding another scar to the place that had once been so beautiful. She was so lost in thought that she barely noticed Maggie enter the room.

"We're about to burry him. Are you going to come?"

Beth didn't respond, she just stood there, not saying anything, not even bothering to look at her sister. Maggie could sense that something was wrong; she could feel the tension in the air.

"Are you alright? Are you mad?"

"Why does he get a burial?"

"What?" Maggie was taken aback by the tone of Beth's voice. "We don't just leave our people out to rot."

"Really? Our people? We barely even know him. Daddy didn't get a burial. We don't even have a body to bury. For all we know he's one of them." Beth was yelling, and her last words came out with a hiss. "Except he doesn't have a body, so he's just laying there slowly starving."

"Beth!" Maggie was shocked. She had never seen her sister act like this, and the words she said stung.

"You know it's the truth."

She was right. Maggie knew that Hershel never got the privilege of being put down before he had the chance to come back, and she highly doubted The Governor would grant her daddy that mercy. She had thought this many times, and so had the rest of the group, but those were just thoughts, nobody had ever had the guts to actually say it aloud, except Beth.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Not."

"If you change your mind, you know where we'll be." Maggie took a long look at Beth, not sure what to make of her sudden change of disposition. She then left the room and joined the rest of the group outside.

Beth continued to look out the window. She watched as her sister walked across the yard to stand at Glenn's side. She watched as Brett's body was lowered into his final resting place. She watched as each member of the group threw a handful of dirt into the grave, slowly burying the man who had been alive only yesterday. And she watched as another little wooden cross was stuck into the ground, marking another causality in this treacherous world; and she knew that this wouldn't be the last cross that would be placed under that tree, she knew that she would have to watch as the people she loved died, watch as a cross was put up in their honor. And suddenly that emptiness inside of her, the feeling she had fought off so long ago, returned.

She turned away from the window, resting her back against the wall, and slowly drifted down to the floor as her legs became weak. Tears were brimming at her eyes, and her fingers went to the jagged scar on her left wrist. It had been months since the last time her fingers traced the raised scar blemishing her skin, and she had hoped that it would feel foreign to her, but as her finger caressed the scar, the familiarity of the pain she had felt was present.

She closed her eyes, hoping to push the agony away, praying that the wound that had suddenly reopened would close. But her hopes and prayers did nothing, because when she closed her eyes she saw her father. She saw the image of the governor swinging the sword, and she saw her father's lifeless body fall to the ground, his blood staining the grass.

The tears she had been fighting back began to roll down her cheeks as she reached into her back pocket and grabbed the small item that was there. It was a small pocketknife, its blade still as sharp as a razor from never being used. It was meant as a last resort if walkers ever attacked her, a means of fighting back, of survival. But right now the pocketknife offered her a way out, a way to end the pain she was suffering, and a guarantee that she would never see another wooden cross put up for someone she loved.

She flipped open the blade and ran her finger along it. She watched as the sun glistened off of it, every once in a while catching a brief glimmer of herself on the metal blade. She then closed her eyes and put the blade to her wrist, the old scar providing a path for the new cut. She began to press down, the blade just breaking her skin. But something stopped her. She took a deep breath and pressed down a little harder, but it was like her arm was frozen, no matter how much she wanted to she couldn't bring herself to move the blade along the length of her wrist.

All of a sudden she could hear the words echoing through her mind. "We all got jobs to do. We don't get to be upset." Her father had said those same words to her a countless number of times, and prior to the prison being lost, she had begun believing them and living by them. But after her fathers death those words had become jumbled up in the mess she was caught in, and their meaning was lost. But for some reason she couldn't get them out of her head right now. It was like they were on repeat, replaying over and over in her mind.

She opened her eyes and the knife fell from her hand. As much as she wanted to escape this world, she knew she couldn't. She knew that Maggie still needed her, that she couldn't put her sister through another death. She knew that she had to be there to take care of Judith when Rick and the other's were too busy caring for the rest of the group. She knew that she had a job to do, and even though it felt like the world was collapsing around her, she knew that she couldn't crumble with it.

Her body was suddenly fueled with anger. Anger that she couldn't die, that she couldn't just give up. Anger that her father was taken from her. Anger that the world that had once seemed so simple was now too complicated to even begin to understand. Her hand reached for the knife, the blade still open, and she slammed it into the floor beside her before her body was rattled with sobs.

When she had finally calmed down she dug the knife from the floorboard and put it back in her pocket. She stood up and went to the bathroom attached to her room. She opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed a band aid. Even though she hadn't cut too deep, her wrist was still bleeding a little, and she didn't want anyone to know what she had almost done. She then left her room and headed downstairs, trying her best to forget what had just happened.

**Authors Note: I really enjoyed writing this chapter and am very happy with how it turned out. I think this is my favorite chapter so far! I would love to hear your feedback. And expect a brand new chapter to be posted in the near future!**


	12. Chapter 12

Ch.12

After they buried him they all stood there for a few moments in silence, nobody wanting to seem disrespectful by being the first to leave. It was Daryl who had the guts to walk away, which didn't really surprise Maggie; after that everyone else soon followed his lead.

"Where's Beth?" Glenn asked curiously.

"She's in her room. She's in a mood, today's not her best."

"What do you mean?"

"We got into a little fight when I went up to get her."

"About what?" He sounded incredulous. Maggie and Beth rarely ever fought; in fact, the last time they had fought had been when Beth was considering suicide.

"I think she's mad that my dad never got to be buried."

"She has a point, you know, we should do something in his honor. It would probably help us all heal."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, like a mock funeral. I'll talk to Rick about it, see what he thinks."

"Thanks," Maggie said with a small smile, watching as Glenn walked away to find Rick.

Maggie decided to go back in the house to check on Beth, to see if she was alright. She was shocked when she saw Beth downstairs in the kitchen preparing food; she was probably starving since it was well into the afternoon and she hadn't had anything to eat.

"Hey," Maggie said hesitantly, testing the waters to see if Beth was still mad.

"Hey," it was flat, but Beth's single-word response wasn't laced with anger, and that made Maggie happy.

Maggie noticed that Beth was struggling with getting the can of mixed fruit open and it was causing Beth to get frustrated. She walked over and took the can from Beth's hand. She saw as Beth turned her right wrist away from Maggie's view, but Maggie still caught the brief glimpse of a band aid and her heart sank with fear.

"What's that?" She asked gesturing to Beth's wrist, trying to sound calm.

"Oh, it's nothing." She looked to her sister, realizing that Maggie wanted more and wouldn't drop it until she gave a better explanation. "I scraped it on something up in my room; it's fine."

She wanted to question more, she wanted to grab her sister's wrist and tear the band aid away to see if her suspicions were real. But she knew doing that would only spark another fight, so she decided to change the subject. "I think we're going to have a funeral for daddy."

"What? How?"

"I talked to Glenn about it, he thought that we all needed a little closure. He was going to talk to Rick about it." Maggie wasn't sure, but she thought she saw the briefest sign of a smile on Beth's face, and it made her happy.

* * *

They were all gathered outside, standing in the shadow cast from the big tree with the frayed rope, standing among the dozen or so tiny white crosses sticking up from the ground, standing adjacent to the recently dug grave. Beth was skeptical at first, thinking this whole idea was stupid, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted closure so desperately that she would do anything, even if that meant attending a mock funeral for her father. Maggie had come to stand by her side, her hand tightly grasping Beth's. Everyone else was standing in a circle surrounding the cross that had just been put there in Hershel's honor. She was trying to fight back the tears, but they eventually started to fall when Rick began to speak.

"Hershel-Hershel was a good man. In the chaos of this world he kept to his beliefs; he did what was right. It seems that somehow we all forgot to mourn him; I don't know if that's because we were all in shock or if we just didn't want to face the truth. But we owe it to him.

"I remember the first time I saw him. He was a white haired old man walking down the steps of that front porch there," Rick motioned to the porch with a smile on his face, "He looked concerned, maybe even a little scared, but when his eyes settled on Carl all of the fear was washed away. I didn't know then how important he would become to all of us. He was there for me when Lori died, he kept me together; he kept us grounded.

"I wish that things could have been different. If I would've known then what I know now, I would've just given The Governor the prison; maybe things could be different. But I didn't know that then, and that's why we're here right now." Rick looked up from the ground and to Beth and Maggie. "While he may not be with us anymore, Hershel left an impact on each and everyone of us; he left a little piece of himself behind in his daughter's. Every time I look at you I see him. Every time you speak I hear his voice. I'm sorry this happened to him." Rick lowered his head to look at the cross before him. "You were a good man Hershel; we're all going to miss you."

Everyone stood there in complete silence, silent tears rolling down their faces. Beth was suddenly aware of the multitude of eyes looking at her. She wasn't sure if they were looking to see her reaction or if they were waiting for her to speak, but she had a suspicion it was the latter. She opened her mouth to say something but she couldn't find the words to say. Nothing she said would make this alright. Instead, and without thinking, she started singing. She didn't know what she was doing until it was too late, and she couldn't decide if she regretted doing this or not.

"_The Garden of Eden has vanished, they say_

_But I know the lie of it still;_

_Just turn to the left at the bridge of Finea_

_And stop when halfway to Cootehill._

_'Tis there I will find it,_

_I know sure enough_

_When fortune has come to me call,_

_Oh the grass it is green around Ballyjamesduff_

_And the blue sky is over it all._

_And tones that are tender and tones that are gruff_

_Are whispering over the sea,_

_Come back, Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff_

_Come home, Paddy Reilly, to me._"

Her voice was shaky and barely audible at first, but she knew everyone heard her because they were all looking at her. Their faces were solemn and she could just see the tracks of their tears. She thought about stopping, but Maggie must have been able to sense her apprehension and gave her hand a light squeeze, encouraging her to continue. As she sang tears continued to stream down her face.

"_My mother once told me that when I was born_

_The day that I first saw the light,_

_I looked down the street on that very first morn_

_And gave a great crow of delight._

_Now most newborn babies appear in a huff,_

_And start with a sorrowful squall,_

_But I knew I was born in Ballyjamesduff_

_And that's why I smiled on them all._

_The baby's a man, now he's toil-worn and tough_

_Still, whispers come over the sea,_

_Come back, Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff_

_Come home, Paddy Reilly, to me._

_The night that we danced by the light of the moon,_

_Wid Phil to the fore wid his flute,_

_When Phil threw his lip over Come Again Soon,_

_He's dance the foot out o' yer boot!_

_The day that I took long Magee by the scruff_

_For slanderin' Rosie Kilrain,_

_Then, marchin' him straight out of Ballyjamesduff,_

_Assisted him into a drain._

_Oh, sweet are the dreams, as the dudeen I puff,_

_Of whisperings over the sea,_

_Come back, Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff_

_Come home, Paddy Reilly, to me._

_I've loved the young women of every land,_

_That always came easy to me;_

_Just barrin' the belles of the Black-a-moor brand_

_And the chocolate shapes of Feegee._

_But that sort of love is a moonshiny stuff,_

_And never will addle me brain,_

_For the bells will be ringin' in Ballyjamesduff_

_For me and me Rosie Kilrain!_

_And through all their glamour, their gas and their guff_

_A whisper comes over the sea,_

_Come back, Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff_

_Come home, Paddy Reilly, to me._"

When she finished everyone remained silent. She could still feel everyone's gaze trained on her, but when she brought herself to look at them their eyes were hollow, worn from the emotional toll the day had brought. She wanted desperately to run inside to her room and be by herself, but she couldn't bring herself to move, she was frozen in place by their stares. Out of the silence she heard someone finally speak.

"That was beautiful." The voice was quiet, but Beth pinpointed it to Glenn, who was standing just beside Maggie.

"Why that song?" Daryl voice was low, and he sounded confused.

"It's what he wanted me to sing when we first got to the prison." Daryl nodded, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

**Authors Note: Sorry it took so long to publish this chapter. Between my sister coming up over the weekend and classes starting up again, I've been busier than I thought. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I'm not 100% sure that the song Beth sings is the same one Hershel had wanted her to sing in Season 3 Episode 1, "Seed," but those are the only lyrics I could find.**

**Also, I have been considering starting a new story. It would be about Daryl and Beth and start from when they flee the prison, unlike how "A Fighting Chance" picks up when they are just about to reunite with the rest of the group. Also, this story would be a lot more dark and twisted and emotional. So, does it sound interesting to you? Should I write it or not?**

**Oh, and before I forget...did you see the new trailer TWD just released? Amazing!**


	13. Chapter 13

Ch.13

Nobody felt like going back into the house after the service, so Daryl built a fire and everyone gathered around it. The sun had set long ago, the glow from the fire their only source of light. Beth was sitting next to Maggie, who was pushed tightly against Glenn. Nobody was talking, the sounds of crickets chirping and the crackle of the fire filling the air.

Then, out of the near silence came a voice. "What do you miss most?"

Everyone looked around to see who it came from, but Beth couldn't locate the source until they spoke again.

"I miss having air conditioning." Tyreese raised his hand to his brow, wiping away sweat.

"I miss having a freezer; an ice cold beer now and then would be nice." Daryl laughed a little when he said it.

"I just wish we still had indoor plumbing…it would be nice to be able to flush again."

Slowly but surely everyone began piping in. Most said not having to live in constant fear, the family and friends they had lost, Internet, electricity. Beth still hadn't said anything, and people seemed to take notice.

Maggie turned to look at her, giving her a slight nudge on the shoulder. "What do you miss?"

Beth hesitated at first, thinking it over. "I miss painting my nails."

She knew it was stupid, and she could already see the strange looks she was getting even though she hadn't looked up. Sure, she missed everything else everyone had said, but she also kind of missed having nice nails and not having to look down at her hands and constantly be reminded of the world she lived in. It would be nice to look and see a pretty color, not dirt and mud in every little crevice.

Maggie put her hand on Beth's shoulder and squeezed lightly. After that everyone fell back into silence, some getting up to go to sleep. Beth stayed there a little longer until her eyes grew heavy and Maggie suggested she go upstairs and get some sleep.

When she got up the next morning she heard noise coming from downstairs. She didn't know what it was; it was more noise than usual for that early in the morning. She apprehensively made her way down the stairs, not knowing what to expect. She was surprised when she saw Daryl, Bob, Tyreese, Sasha, and Michonne all sitting at the table. They were going over something, but she couldn't tell what. She must have inched closer because Michonne looked up at her.

"Going on a run today."

"Where?"

"Daryl said there's a spot a few miles from here."

"Saw it when I went out hunting a few days ago. Didn't look like it had been overrun."

Beth just nodded, not really having all that much interest in the topic. They never let her go on runs, so the whole thing really didn't pertain to her. She began to turn away when Sasha spoke up.

"Are you hungry? I made some oatmeal."

Now that it was mentioned, Beth became aware of the emptiness in her stomach, a quiet growl arising. She didn't really eat yesterday, just a few bites of fruit that had been sitting in a can for far too long. When she looked back to Sasha she had already pulled a chair out and had set a bowl down. Beth walked over to it and began eating.

They continued talking about the run, and Beth was surprised when she found herself paying close attention. She learned that they were going to a little town, smaller than hers, which she had been to a few times. They had a grocery store that was so small most people probably wouldn't have known it was there, which meant it could still have much needed supplies. Before she knew it Beth was offering her opinion on the best way to the town and the best way to get in to the store.

"Don't go on the main roads. It doesn't it show it on the map, but if you turn right about here," her hand pointed to a spot on the map "just after Still River Road, there is a back way; you just follow that for a few miles and it takes you right into the town. You're less likely to run into abandoned cars and stuff."

She jerked her hand away when she realized what she was doing. She was certain that nobody wanted her two-cents, and she was slightly embarrassed that she had even offered it. Who would listen to the girl who knows nothing about going on runs? She was pleasantly surprised when Michonne looked at her and grinned.

"Have any other advice for us?"

She wasn't quick to speak, but after she was sure that Michonne had actually meant what she said, she continued. "The road will let you out by the library, you turn left and the grocery store is less than a minute down the road."

She finished eating her oatmeal as they finished with their plans. Then she helped them load up the truck and car they were going to be taking.

"Thanks for the advice." She was walking next to Daryl, everyone else had retreated back inside to gather the last things. "Would of never known that road was there if it weren't for you."

Beth didn't respond, just gave her head a little nod. That's when she noticed Daryl staring at something. At first she didn't know what it was, but then she followed his line of vision. He was staring at her wrist, the band aid still covering the little cut. She went to pull it away, to try to hide it from Daryl even though he had already seen it, but he caught it in his hand.

"Stop, it's nothing." She tried to yank her wrist free, but he wasn't letting her go.

He started to pick at the band aid, ripping it off once he had a grip on it, turning the skin where it had been red. His eyes told her he knew, but she was still compelled to lie.

"It's nothing, I just scraped it."

"Damn it Beth, why'd you do this."

"It's just a scrape," she said hurriedly.

"That ain't no scrape. Does Maggie know?" He asked, releasing her wrist.

Beth was quiet now, keeping her voice low. "No."

Before she had time to say anything else Daryl walked away. She just stood there, half expecting Maggie to come barreling towards her shouting. But that didn't happen. Instead Daryl and the others came out of the house, Daryl looking at her as he walked by. They got in the truck and car and drove off.

**Author's Note: I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter; I don't think it's my best and not all that much happens. I'm hoping it's better than I think it is and that it makes more sense when the next few chapters are posted.**


	14. Chapter 14

Ch.14

Daryl was surprised when they found the road Beth had told them about. She was right, there was nothing blocking the road, unlike the main roads where pile-ups made it impossible to pass through. Everyone was talking about what they needed to get on the run; going over the list to make sure they wouldn't forget anything. Normally Daryl would join the conversation, but today he remained quiet, he couldn't get Beth's wrist out of his mind. He thought she was over doing that, but he was wrong, because there was no mistaking the evidence on her wrist. He didn't know what to do about her.

He pushed his thoughts to the side when the street gave way to the town they had been talking about for the last few days. It was tinier than Daryl thought, and just like Beth had said, the grocery store was less than a minutes drive once they got on the main road. It didn't really even look like a grocery store, at least not one he had ever been to. It was brick, fitting in with the style of the buildings adjacent to it. He parked the truck, getting out as Tyreese parked the car behind them.

Before going in, Daryl tapped his elbow against the glass at the front of the store. They all waited until they heard the noises they were all too familiar with; he was relieved to find that the place wasn't packed full of walkers, only three came to the front, which they easily took down.

Upon entering the store he was pleasantly surprised to see that almost all of the shelves were still stocked full. This run was going to be a success, and he was already thinking about planning another trip here in a few days to stock up on what they didn't have room to bring back with them.

They each had their own things they were responsible for getting, and Daryl was supposed to get the canned goods. He had a big bag, which he took off of his shoulder, ready to fill it full. He carefully put all of the cans he could fit in the bag. They were going to be eating well with the variety of canned food. They had been so used to eating beans and mixed fruit, but this grocery still had canned vegetables, which they hadn't been able to find since leaving the prison.

He was almost ready to head back to the truck when Beth flickered through his mind again. And without knowing it he was headed in the opposite direction of the door. He knew what he was looking for; it was just a matter of finding the aisle. He finally found the beauty products, and was a little embarrassed to find himself venturing down it, hoping nobody would notice. His eyes fluttered to the left, and he caught a glimpse of what he was looking for.

Standing before all of the colors he didn't know what to grab. She had said she missed nail polish, but she never mentioned what color. He thought about grabbing her favorite color, but then realized he had no idea what that was. He stared at the bottles blankly, trying to think of what a teenage girl would pick. His hand reached for one that was light pink; he looked at the name of the color, eyes wide. Tutti Frutti Tonga. What in the world is a Tutti Frutti Tonga? He heard feet approaching and quickly hid the bottle in his back pocket and exited the aisle.

"You ready?" Sasha asked, not even giving a questioning glance at the aisle he had just come from.

"Yeah. You get everything?"

"We got more than enough. We should be set for a while."

They walked to the truck and started the drive back. Daryl could feel the bottle in his pocket; maybe putting it in his back pocket wasn't such a good idea. The drive home was relatively quiet compared to the drive there. Everyone was tired and decided to relax; making the occasional comment on how well the run had went. By the time they made it to the driveway of the Greene family farm, they had fallen into complete silence.

As soon as he brought the truck to a complete stop he got out, scanning the yard for any sign of Beth. When he didn't see her he grabbed his bag and crossbow and went in the house, setting the bag on the table. Rick tried to talk to him, but Daryl brushed him off, heading up the stairs. If Beth wasn't outside and wasn't downstairs, she would be in her room.

He silently crept up the stairs, tiptoeing until he reached her room. The door was cracked, just wide enough for Daryl to catch a glimpse of Beth sitting cross-legged on her bed, a pen in hand writing in her journal. He slowly opened the door, and watched as she jumped and shut the journal when it creaked.

"Hey."

"Oh, hey," she said, turning her attention away from him.

"I want to talk."

"I don't mean to be disrespectful Daryl, but I'm not really feeling up to it," she said as her hand wrapped around her wrist.

He crept further into the room. "You don't got a choice." He looked at her before pulling the chair in her room next to her bed. "You want to tell me what happened there?" He asked, pointing to her wrist.

"No." She avoided looking at him, keeping her eyes on her closed journal.

"Look, Beth, I'm not accusing you of anything and I'm not gonna' judge you. But if you are starting this up again somebody needs to know."

"I'm not." She was quick to answer, but it was barely a whisper. "It was an accident."

"I know that's not true. You can tell me."

She met his eyes for the first time, but waited before she spoke, almost like she was trying to see if he was lying. "I did it yesterday, when you guys were burying Brett. I got into a fight with Maggie." She looked to him, and he nodded for her to go on. "I was thinking of everyone we've lost; Patricia, Otis, Lori…my daddy, and I knew that we would lose more, and I didn't want to go through it again. And then when I closed my eyes I saw The Governor with Michonne's sword swinging it at my daddy's neck. I felt like I did back then. I felt like the world was caving in and I was going with it. And then I got out my little pocketknife and put it to my wrist. I tried to do it Daryl, I tried to cut myself again, but I couldn't do it all the way; I stopped myself. I realized that I have to be strong for everyone, that I can't put Maggie through another loss. I'm not going to do it again."

Daryl sat there looking at her, taking in everything she had just said, knowing she was telling the truth. He then reached into his back pocket and grabbed the bottle, handing it to her.

"Here, I got this for you." He saw her eyes look down to the bottle, the excitement starting to spark in them. "I didn't know what color to get; I just grabbed one that looked like you."

"Thank you," she said as she took the nail polish from him. "Tutti Frutti Tonga? It's pretty. Thanks, Daryl."

Daryl got up and started walking to the door. Before he was out of the doorway he heard her small voice, barely audible.

"Are you going to tell Maggie?"

He looked at her again; her eyes were boring into him. "No." Before she could say anything else he left.

**Author's Note: Aw, Daryl actually listened to Beth. I thought they had kind of had a cute moment together this chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15

Ch.15

Tutti Frutti Tonga? Beth stared at the color. It was pretty, and surprisingly it was something she would have picked out for herself. Sitting on her bed painting her nails brought back memories of her and her friends. She remembered for her twelfth birthday how she had invited her closest friends over for a sleepover. They had stayed up all night watching movies, talking about boys, and painting their nails. Now she wondered what had happened to them.

She hadn't heard from anyone since the outbreak, and while she hated to admit it, she figured that most of them hadn't survived. In a morbid way she thought it was probably best that they were dead, better that they wouldn't have to see what the world had become, that they wouldn't have to see their family die. She quickly brushed the thought away when she heard footsteps outside her door.

"Beth?"

She turned to see who it was. Maggie was peeking her head through the door, a funny expression on her face when she saw what Beth was doing.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Daryl."

"Daryl?" Maggie was surprised, her eyebrows rising questioningly. "Daryl got you nail polish?"

"I know, right." Beth let out a little laugh.

"It's pretty. Maybe I'll have you paint mine later tonight?"

Beth knew Maggie didn't really care if her fingernails were painted or not. Maggie had never been the type to paint her nails. But Beth shook her head, a little bit of excitement rising in her at the thought of doing something normal.

"If you're not busy, can you watch Judith while I make dinner? Rick is doing something with Daryl, and Judith is getting fussy; she's in one of those moods that only you seem to be able to calm."

Without answering, Beth got up and headed downstairs. Maggie was right, Judith was being fussy. Carl was sitting with Judith, trying to calm her crying, but nothing seemed to be working. When he saw Beth approach he immediately handed the baby off to her, relief flooding his face.

"I don't know what's gotten in to her. Nothing seems to be making her happy."

Beth started to bounce the baby on her hip. When her crying didn't quiet she began to sing.

_"Your little hand's wrapped around my finger_

_And it's so quiet in the world tonight_

_Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming_

_So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light_

_To you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret_

_I'd give all I have, honey_

_If you could stay like that_

_Oh darling, don't you ever grow up_

_Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little_

_Oh darling, don't you ever grow up_

_Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple_

_I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart_

_And no one will desert you_

_Just try to never grow up, never grow up"_

Judith's crying slowly subsided and her eyes began to grow heavy. Beth continued rocking her in her arms until she was asleep. Beth placed her in her crib and then went to join Maggie in the kitchen.

"I don't know how you do it."

"Do what?"

"Get her to calm down so easily. You're the only one who can do that."

Beth shrugged, starting to get a little embarrassed. "She likes when you sing to her, so I sing."

Maggie was cleaning a handful of berries in the sink. They had been able to get the water working, which was a huge relief since they hadn't had running water since the prison. Tyreese and Daryl had tried to get the generators working again, but after working on them for three days straight decided they were useless.

"Do you need me to do anything?"

"Actually, I was just about to go outside to start cooking whatever Daryl brought back. Can you finish cleaning these?"

"Yeah."

Beth moved and took Maggie's spot in front of the sink. When her stomach began to growl she began popping the berries into her mouth, being sure not to take too many. When she was finished she went back and checked on Judith, who was sound asleep. Carl was sitting on the couch, looking like he wasn't sure what to do.

"Hey Carl, will you keep an eye on Judith? I'm going to go and help Maggie outside. I'll be fast."

"Sure."

"Thanks."

Beth headed outside. Maggie and Sasha had a small fire going, just large enough to cook the food. It looked like they would be having a combination of squirrel and rabbit tonight. When they noticed Beth they both offered a smile before returning to cooking the food.

"Carl's watching Judith right now, so I can help."

"Will you just help us keep an eye on these, make sure they don't burn?"

"Sure."

The food was almost done cooking when Beth noticed Daryl grabbing his crossbow, his attention turned to the woods. Rick followed behind him, his hand resting on the gun in its holster. Beth figured it was just a walker so she went back to placing the now cooked food on a plate. She didn't look up again until she noticed both Sasha and Maggie leave her side.

The door to the house slammed shut as Glenn rushed out. It was only now that Beth noticed the figures becoming visible in the woods, making their way closer to the farm. Beth abandoned the food and made her way over to where everyone else was standing.

Nine men appeared from the woods. At first Beth thought they were walkers, but quickly corrected herself when she noticed that nobody was rushing to kill them. These men were just as alive as she was, but their appearance was much rougher.

"Who are you?" She heard Daryl yell, his crossbow pointed at one of the men.

"Woah, settle down there boy. We're just people like you," one of the men said, his hands in the air.

"Why are you here?" Rick asked, his voice much more relaxed than Daryl's, but still showing the signs of stress.

"No reason in particular. Ran in to some trouble a while back. One of the men from our group left us a few weeks ago, started heading this way, so we figured we'd loop back around and see what was here."

"Nothing here for you, so why don't you be on your way." Daryl was still pointing the crossbow at the man.

"We'll be on our way soon enough. But seeing as you have weapons and food, would you really be that cruel to send us off without anything?" The man motioned to the weapon in Daryl's hand and the plate of food Beth had deserted.

"We can give you food, but we're keeping our weapons," Rick responded, looking around at the people standing behind him, his eyes falling on Beth. She guessed by the expression on his face he had only just noticed her presence. Turning back to the men, Rick began speaking again. "We don't have many weapons, we need them for protection."

"Now that's not very nice is it?" Beth could tell the man was getting riled up, that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "We need protection, too. Just hand them over and we'll be on our way."

Beth could tell by the tense posture of everyone standing around her that this wasn't going how they would have liked. While Daryl was the only one with his weapon drawn, everyone else had their hands resting on their own, ready to pull it out if needed.

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update! My professors have been keeping me very busy with tests and papers. This next week is going to be another full of tests and papers, so I will do my best to update by the end of next weekend.**

**I decided that I needed to make the story a little more exciting, so I introduced a threat. Does anyone know who this group is? It has to do with a character who died a few chapters back. And what do you think is going to happen?**

**And, The Walking Dead is just days away!**


	16. Chapter 16

Ch.16

"Beth, go back inside," Rick's voice was calm but authoritative.

Beth didn't hesitate. As soon as the words had come out of Rick's mouth she had begun to slowly back away, inching closer to the house. But she was suddenly stopped when one of the men standing before them spoke.

"No, Beth, stay." It was the man standing most towards the middle of the group of men. His eyes were staring directly at Beth.

Beth wasn't sure what to do. Every inch of her wanted to listen to Rick, she desperately wanted the safety of the house, but her subconscious made her stop and just stay there, it made her listen to the man, afraid of what disobeying him would do.

The man continued to stare at Beth, noticing her hesitation. He looked away from her to the rest of his group, then back to Rick and the others, before returning his gaze to Beth. He tilted his head downwards, a cruel, crooked smile forming on his face, and his eyes returning to Beth. "You know what Beth, why don't you just come and stand by me?" His voice had a playful tone of evil in it.

Beth once again didn't move. She knew that listening to this order, that obeying this command given by the stranger would be irrational. She also knew that Rick and the others wouldn't let her go stand by the man even if she wanted to. That's when the man turned his head to his right, and gave a slight nod in Beth's direction to a very muscular and strong looking man.

The man began stepping forward, not even faltering when Rick grabbed the gun from his belt and pointed it towards the man. This man knew that Rick wouldn't do anything, because where he had only one gun pointed at him, Rick and his group had at least seven guns pointed at them. The man continued to approach Beth, and Beth began stepping away. But despite her slow descent backwards, the man finally reached her. He grabbed her from behind, and Beth felt a slight pain in her right side. She tried fighting back, but the fight was useless, Beth had no chance escaping the strong grasp of the man.

She was finally released when they had reached the man, who was obviously the leader of this group. The man grabbed Beth's arm and twisted it behind her back, making it impossible for her to break free, and pulling her closer to him.

"Alright then, let's try talking again."

"We don't want any trouble." Rick's voice was calm, unwavering.

"And neither do we. Just give us your weapons and we'll leave."

"You know we can't do that."

"But that's the thing, you can." Beth could feel the man's warm breath against her skin.

Rick's gun was pointed at the man now holding Beth. Glenn, Maggie, and Sasha only had knives, which they now held at their sides. Rick wasn't even contemplating giving the man their weapons, and the man could see that.

With a slow movement of the hand, the man brought a gun to Beth's temple. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Rick."

"Okay, Rick, my name's Christian. Just put down your gun."

Still, Rick didn't listen. He knew that the man was just trying to frighten him, make him think that he would really kill Beth. He had seen this before, back when he was still a cop. The criminal would hold someone ransom, threatening to kill them, but as long as they still had a gun held on them he wouldn't do anything.

"You don't think I'll really hurt her, do you?" The man began to lower the gun. "Fine, we'll just have to change this up a little bit." He then raised the gun again, and slammed it against Beth's right side in one swift movement.

Beth let out a scream of pain and tears began filling her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. Maggie took a fast step forward, ready to attack the man who was causing her sister pain, but she was stopped by Rick, who extended his arm to block her from moving any further.

"Okay, okay." Rick raised his hands slowly. "There's no need for you to hurt her. I'm just going to set this down slowly." Rick gently lowered his arms and put the gun on the ground before him. He looked back and motioned for the rest of them to do the same with their weapons.

"You see Rick, that's just not going to cut it anymore. You made me angry, tried to play with me; I don't do well with that. How old are you Beth? 17? 18?" Christian moved his lips to where they were just touching the side of Beth's face; she could feel every warm breath, could feel the dryness of his lips against her soft skin. "You see, we're a group of men, we have needs. Sure, we come across women here and there, but it's rare that we come across someone as young as Beth here; someone as pretty as her, someone so pure." Christian had reached his hand up Beth's loose-fitting shirt, and his hand was lightly resting against her stomach.

"No!" Rick's voice was strong and steady. Where there may have been some leeway for negotiating before, there was no room for it now.

"What? Surely she isn't that beneficial to your group; let us take her off your hands."

"No!"

"We'll take good care of her."

"I don't want you to take 'good care of her.'"

"Come on, you must know what it's like to have needs, Rick. And by the looks of it, you are in no position to negotiate." Christian's voice changed, it grew deeper, stronger, fiercer, and was laced with more evil than before. "We're taking the girl with us."

The man started to back away, showing that he was done talking to Rick. Beth's heart was racing, thinking that Rick was really letting these men take her away with them, but then she saw something in Rick change. Something was happening, something she didn't know about. She could see it in all of their faces.

BANG!

Suddenly the world grew dark and silent. Beth was vaguely aware of the loosening grip on her arm, but she couldn't make sense of it. Everything around her was a blur; everyone was moving in slow motion. She could barely make out Rick lunging forward, grabbing something on the ground and then raising it. She heard another banging noise, but it sounded like it was coming from miles away.

And then everything caught up to speed. She could see and hear everything clearly. The blurs of motion that had been moving around her had slowed. And Glenn was standing right in front of her, gripping her arms, trying to say something to her.

"Beth, Beth. Can you hear me? Beth, you're alright."

Beth stood there frozen, unable to move or speak. She was still trying to make sense of what had just happened. Why wasn't the group of men firing back? Why weren't they dragging her away? She looked around her and saw bodies lying motionless on the ground, blood pooling on the ground beneath their heads. They were dead. The group of men was dead.

**Author's Note: I hope you all liked this chapter! It was a lot more action-packed than any of the others, which I thought was a nice change.**

**I wonder what will happen next?**


	17. Chapter 17

Ch.17

"Glen, is she alright? What's wrong with her?" She could tell that it was Maggie speaking, her voice was panicked and taut, and Beth desperately wanted to respond, but the words she was trying to say just wouldn't form.

"I don't know. I think she's in shock." Glenn was lightly shaking Beth, waving his hand in front of her face, trying to get a response from her. "Beth, Beth, can you hear me?"

Beth vaguely heard someone say "Get her to the house," but she couldn't make out who it was, or if it had been a male or female's voice. The next thing Beth knew, Glen had picked her up and carried her to the house. As soon as they got inside Bob was right at their side.

"What happened to her? Is she injured?"

"That bastard was going to take her. Tried using her to threaten us. He hit her with the gun. I think it's her ribs."

"I'm going to need to see." Bob looked to Maggie, who then shook her head in allowance. He reached down to lift Beth's shirt so he could see her injuries, but Beth quickly backed away; still not fully aware of what was happening.

"Beth, it's me, it's Bob. I'm not going to hurt you. I just need to make sure you aren't hurt." He looked her directly in the eyes, but Beth didn't respond.

When his hand went to her shirt again, she didn't flinch. He gently lifted her shirt up, just enough to reveal the area of skin that was already badly bruised.

"I'm going to need to feel, to see if anything's broke." He placed his hand on the bruised area, and as soon as he put the slightest amount of pressure on it, Beth yipped in pain and again backed away. "Will somebody come and hold her, maybe try to distract her?"

Both Daryl and Maggie stepped forward. Maggie leaned down in front of Beth, and Daryl stood just close enough to Beth that if she tried to back away again she wouldn't be able to.

"Beth, you just have to let him do this really quick. It will be fast, I promise," Maggie said softly.

Bob once again went to assess her injuries. And when Beth jumped back in pain, she was caught by Daryl, who held her steady, letting her squeeze his hand as tightly as she needed. Beth's head was in such a fog, trying to sort through what had just happened, that she barely heard any of the conversation that followed.

"I can't be certain, but I don't think they managed to break any of her ribs. I think they're just badly bruised. She's going to need to take it easy for a few weeks, let them heal. She's gong to be in pain, we may want to think about finding some pain meds for her, I don't think there are any in the house."

"I'll go on a run tomorrow," Daryl volunteered. "With any luck there's still something in that pharmacy back in town."

* * *

"Hey guys, can you give Beth and I a little time alone?" Maggie asked, glancing from one face to the other.

Everyone in the room immediately left, leaving Beth and Maggie alone. Maggie turned her attention back to Beth, who was still standing in the same spot she had been in since Glenn brought her into the house. Little speckles of blood dotted her face and clothes, and even from across the room Maggie could see Beth's pulse on her neck and hear her heavy breathing.

"Beth, sweetheart, why don't you sit down?"

Beth continued to stare blankly at the ground, Maggie's words having gone unheard by Beth's ears. Maggie approached Beth and lightly put her hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Beth, how 'bout you sit down for a minute."

She took Beth by the hand and dragged her over to the nearest chair, applying pressure on her shoulders until she sat. Maggie then went over to the sink and wet a washcloth. She knelt down in front of Beth and started to wipe the dots of blood from her face.

"Maggie?" Beth's eyes finally looked up from the ground, big and blue and brimming with tears. "Maggie, what just happened?"

Maggie paused what she was doing. "It's ok, you're safe now. That guy can't hurt you."

"Who-who shot him? I didn't see anyone shoot him?"

"It was Tyreese. He was out in the woods, heard all of the commotion. Snuck up behind him and took him out."

"And the rest of them?"

"They're all dead, too."

Maggie continued cleaning Beth's face until it was free of blood. She placed the dirtied cloth on the table and went to the bathroom, searching through the medicine cabinet until she found what she was looking for.

"Here, take these," she said, as she shook two pills from the bottle in her hands. "It will help with the pain a little until we can get you something stronger."

Beth took the pills from Maggie's hand and swallowed them.

"You should get some sleep. You've been through a lot."

Beth nodded her head in agreement, realizing just how tired she was. Maggie helped Beth to her room, and stayed until she was certain Beth was sleeping.

**Author's Note: Ok, I'm going to admit, this isn't my favorite chapter...it's a little short. But, I'm really excited for what's to come in the next few chapters! I haven't started writing them yet, but I have a ton of ideas, and it makes me really excited!**

**Oh, and expect Ch.16 of "Ruined" to be posted either tomorrow or Sunday!**


	18. Chapter 18

Ch.18

Bob hadn't been lying when he said she would be in pain. Every time she moved a sharp pain shot up her side; it even hurt to breath. The pills Maggie had given her had done little in the way of easing any of the pain. And when Daryl arrived the next day with stronger pain meds, she was relieved.

Maggie had pretty much confined her to bed rest, but the longer Beth just lay there doing nothing, the more restless she became. She had to get up; she had to move; she had to do something.

Almost everyone was outside cleaning up the remaining bodies on the ground. When the bodies were gone the only evidence left that anything had happened there was the bloodstained grass.

"I thought I told you to stay in bed."

Beth turned around a little too fast and she clutched her side. Maggie was standing there with a concerned look on her face.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. It just hurts a little." That was an understatement. "And, I can't just sit there anymore, I have to do something. I'm getting restless."

"Well, don't do anything too strenuous. Bob says you need to take it easy."

"I won't, I promise."

Maggie flashed Beth a smile before leaving the room and heading outside. Beth stood there not sure what to do. She wouldn't be of any help with the bodies as she could barely move without hurting. She started walking, she knew who she was looking for, but she didn't know where he would be. Walking outside she found him standing alone smoking a cigarette.

"Hey," she said.

Daryl turned around, and noticing that it was Beth, smiled and put out his cigarette. "Hey. How you doin'?"

"I'm fine. I just wanted to thank you, for the pills and all."

"Does it hurt?"

"A little."

Daryl started walking away. She hadn't gone looking for him just to thank him for the pain pills; she had something else on her mind. She had to ask a favor of him, and she wasn't really sure what his response would be.

"Daryl, wait." He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her again. Beth was suddenly nervous. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Depends on what it is."

"Can you teach me to fight?"

He was quick to respond. "No."

He turned around and started walking away again. Beth ran to catch up to him, and ignoring her pain, reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Please, Daryl. I don't want to be defenseless. What if something like that happens again, but there's no one else around to help me? I want to be able to help myself, I need to be able to protect myself."

Beth could tell that Daryl was contemplating her words. From the looks of it, it didn't look like her convincing was doing too much for him.

"I know you guys think I'm just a kid, but I'm not anymore, I haven't been for a long time. You can't just keep sheltering me from everything; if you do, I'll never be able to survive on my own."

Daryl sighed. "Fine. But I'm gonna' talk to the rest of the group first. If they're fine with it, then I'll teach you, if they're not, then you're out of luck, kid."

* * *

Daryl was still surprised with Beth's request. In a way he was hoping the group would object to the idea; the thought of teaching a teenage girl to fight wasn't exactly his idea of fun. But Beth was right, she needed to know how to defend herself, and they had been depriving her of that.

Everyone from the council was gathered in the living room. Daryl had told them all that he had something they needed to talk about, but he hadn't offered anymore details; he didn't want anyone saying no before he even had time to explain.

"We need to talk about somethin'."

"What is it?" Carol asked.

"Beth. She wants me to teach her how to fight."

And with that one sentence everyone began giving their input on the situation.

"Not a chance in hell."

Daryl wasn't surprised when Maggie was the first to speak up. He knew that she would be the hardest to convince. She didn't like the idea of her sister having to grow up so fast, and Daryl couldn't blame her for that. If Beth were his little sister he would probably just lock her up in her room and never let her come out.

Rick was the next to speak. "There's no need for her to know how to fight." Like Maggie, he tried his best to keep the kids kids.

"She's just a kid," Carol said.

"That's the thing, she isn't a kid no more, she's an adult. We keep treatin' her like a kid, and she doesn't want that anymore."

"Daryl, you're not teaching Beth how to fight, she doesn't need to know how to" Maggie said.

"Really? Was I the only one who saw what happened the other day? She needs to be able to defend herself. We aren't always going to be here to protect her. What if something happened and she got separated? What if we run into another group? You want her to be defenseless?"

"That's not going to happen." Rick was staring at him.

"You don't know that. Besides, Carl knows how to protect himself. He's, what, four or five years younger than Beth? We don't go 'round treatin' him like a kid. We've been sheltering her for too long just because she's sweet, innocent, little Beth. She needs to get out there, she needs to get experience. She wants to learn, she asked me. I told her I would, but only if we all agreed, and only with Maggie's permission. I'm not saying we need to send her out into a heard of walkers and see how she does. I just think we owe it to her to teach her the basics."

There was silence. Everyone was still shocked with topic of this meeting. Daryl knew that everything he said was true. For some reason they allowed Carl to go out there and see what this world really is. But when it came to Beth it was like they all tried their hardest to keep her away from everything, to shield her from the horrors of the world they lived in.

"Maggie, he's right. Beth should know how to defend herself. We never know when something might happen, and do you really want her out there with just a knife and a gun and no other way to protect herself?"

Daryl was surprised that it was Michonne who spoke. He had expected her to be on his side, sure, she was always sensible when it came to things like this, but she wasn't the type to speak up. But whatever she said must have gotten through to Maggie.

"Fine, you can teach her. But, take it easy on her. I don't care what you say, she's still a kid."

**Author's Note: First of all, I just wanted to apologize in the delay with updating. This week has been pretty hectic for me, and I didn't have much time to sit down and write.**

**Now, on to Ch.18. Beth wants to learn how to fight, and she wants Daryl to teach her! Daryl's relunctant, but realizes that Beth should know how to fight so that she can protect herself. Michonne even realizes that Beth needs to know how to fight! After a little convincing, Maggie gives Daryl the ok. This should be interesting.**

**I know that some of you have been wanting more Daryl/Beth interaction, and I can promise you these next few chapters will be full of them!**

**And, to finish, what did you all think of Sunday's episode of The Walking Dead? I absolutely loved it! It looks like Daryl and Beth are going to get closer, but in a friendship kind of way, not romantic.**


	19. Chapter 19

Ch.19

When Daryl found Beth she was sitting on her bed. She was looking at something, but he couldn't tell what it was. It looked like a book. She was staring intently at the pages, occasionally flipping them. He watched her from the doorway for a few minutes before entering. As soon as she noticed his presence, she slammed the book shut and tucked it under her pillow. Daryl looked at her questioningly, but didn't say anything. He wasn't sure, but it looked like she had been crying.

"They said I can teach you."

The smallest of smiles rose on Beth's lips. "Really?" She was excited.

"Um hm."

"When do we start?"

"When you're all healed up."

Beth started to stand up. "I'm fine now, we should start now. No point in putting it off."

"Nah, we ain't doin' nothing for another few weeks. Bob said it would take awhile for your ribs to heal, said you'd be in pain. We're not going to hurt you anymore than you already are."

"But-"

Daryl cut her off. "No buts about it, we'll start when I say we start."

Daryl liked her enthusiasm about learning, but there was no way Daryl was going to start teaching Beth how to fight when she had just been injured a few days ago. Maggie would kill him. Plus, she was bound to get hurt when he was teaching her.

Daryl stood there in an awkward silence for a few minutes, not really sure what to say. Beth had sat back down on her bed, seemingly defeated. Her hand was resting underneath her pillow on whatever it was he had seen her looking at earlier. Soon enough Daryl's curiosity got the best of him.

"What yah got there?"

Beth looked up at him, confused. "What?"

"Under your pillow. I saw you looking at it earlier. What is it?"

"It's nothing," Beth said as she retracted her hand from the object.

"It didn't seem like nothing." Daryl raised an eyebrow.

Beth reluctantly pulled the book out and set it on her lap. "It's just a scrapbook. I made it for my mom for her birthday…before everything started." Beth took a shaky breath and then whispered, "I never got a chance to give it to her."

Daryl walked over to her side and looked down at the book. The cover had a picture of all of the Greene's. Hershel was standing in the middle, his arm wrapped around a woman's waist, pulling her closer. Daryl assumed that was Beth's mom. Maggie was to Hershel's left, her arm slung around Beth's shoulders, and a young man was standing next to the woman. That must be Shawn, Beth's brother. Beth didn't look much different in the picture than she had when he first met her.

Daryl pulled the chair in the corner next to the bed, and Beth began flipping through the book. The first page was of her and her mother. There was a picture of Beth when she was just a baby with barely any hair on her head. Another picture was of her mom and Beth when she was about seven in a field of wildflowers. Loose ringlets of Beth's blonde hair were blowing in the wind while the woman tucked a flower behind Beth's ear.

As Beth flipped the pages he found himself becoming absorbed. Beth would occasionally break his thoughts with the story that belonged to a particular picture.

"This one here," Beth pointed to a picture of her on a bike and Hershel holding on to it from behind, "that's when I learned to ride a bike. I thought I was doing so well until I looked back and saw daddy holding on and keeping me from falling. He was too scared to let go."

She pointed to another picture, one of her and Maggie. Beth was wearing a fancy dress and her hair was all done up. "That's from my first high school dance. My mom and Maggie made such a big deal out of it. And then when my date finally came, Shawn had a nice long talk with him." She let out a sad laugh.

When Daryl looked up he saw that Beth's eyes were watery and it looked like she was going to start crying any minute, but she never did. Instead, she continued to flip through the book until they came to the end. Daryl wasn't sure how long they had been up there in her room, but he knew that it had been awhile.

Daryl cleared his throat. "Well, I should probably go downstairs. People are probably wondering where I am."

He started heading to the door but stopped when Beth spoke.

"Daryl? Thank you, for everything."

Daryl just gave a small nod and looked at her before leaving.

* * *

Daryl didn't see much of Beth the next few days. He was purposely trying to avoid her, because anytime they were in a room together she would try to get him to start teaching her to fight. He had never realized how persistent Beth could be when she wanted something.

When Daryl got back from hunting that day Beth was sitting on the porch, waiting for him. As soon as he made it up the steps she was standing, already nagging him.

"I think we should start today."

"Nope."

"Why?"

"Not healed yet."

"Daryl, I'm not in any pain, I'm perfectly fine."

"Is that so?" Daryl raised his eyebrows. "Then why are you still poppin' those pain pills?"

She didn't say anything, just stood there looking at him, and Daryl thought he had won. He was about to turn and walk into the house when she started speaking again.

"I'm starting to think you aren't going to teach me."

"That's not true. I'm going to teach you when you're ready."

"You know, if I ever have to fight in real life, I might be hurt, and I would still have to fight through it."

Daryl let out a rugged breath. He couldn't argue that point, she was right. If she ever had to fight there was a chance she could get hut or that she would already be hurt, but she would still need to fight. Still, he didn't want to risk hurting her anymore than she already was if they could avoid it.

"I said not today."

"Come on. We don't have to do anything strenuous. I should start learning as soon as possible."

Daryl was starting to get fed up. "Fine."

Daryl grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to the yard. He wasn't really sure what to do. Sure, he had taught others how to fight, but never a teenage girl who had no fighting experience and was in pain. He would need to start easy.

"Punch me."

"What?"

"I said punch me."

Daryl stood there waiting, watching as Beth contemplated his words. Eventually he saw her ball her fist up and swing it wildly at him. He easily blocked it and pulled her tight to him, wrapping his arm around her neck. She struggled to get free, but he wasn't giving.

Daryl felt Beth bring her free hand to her side. She was in pain, he could tell. He loosened his grasp on her and she immediately bent down in pain. Her breathing was labored.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, it just hurts."

"Told you you're not ready."

Beth just looked at him but didn't say anything.

**Author's Note: So if any of you remember from all the way back in Ch.3, that's the same scrapbook that Daryl caught her looking at. He didn't know what it was at the time, and Beth wasn't willing to tell him about it, but now he knows. I thought it was kind of a sweet moment between the two of them...I think it allowed Daryl to get to know her a little better, to see what her life was like before the whole zombie apocalypse thing.**

**And, Beth really, really, really wants to learn how to fight! She isn;t giving up until Daryl says yes. And then when he finally does, she realizes that he was right. Kind of funny. But, don't expect him to keep using the injury as an excuse for not teaching her for long...they will start the lessons very soon. I'm thinking that that will be interesting and pretty fun to write.****  
**

**So, what did you think of this chapter. If you liked it, leave a review. If you didn't like it, still leave a review and tell me why!**

**And, what did you think of this last episode of TWD?! I don't want to spoilt it for anyone who hasn't had the chance to watch it, but wow! I hope everything turns out alright!**


End file.
